


Night Demons Are the Worst Demons

by Lil_Gamer



Series: The Tale of Nerida [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Nerida does not like water at all, but she does like trees, fluffy as all hell, just a normal night in the house of Thorin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 17:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Gamer/pseuds/Lil_Gamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After four years, the house of Durin has fallen into a cycle with Nerida. Today is not different from that cycle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Demons Are the Worst Demons

Nerida giggled as she ran through the streets – she and Kili were playing tag and he was it. She couldn’t see him behind her, so she was going to try and hide in a tree to win the game. She was about to climb up the tree when arms wrapped around her and lifted her, Kili tickling her sides.

“Found you, _delva,_ ” He teased, smiling when he heard her giggles. He lifted her up so she was well about his head and onto the nearest tree branch before climbing up himself. Kili leaned back against the trunk of the tree and held her in his lap.

“Kiwi, how did you find me?” Nerida questioned, with her eyebrows furrowed – _just like Thorin,_ Kili mused to himself.

“It’s a special power us big cousins and brothers have, to always be able to find our loved cousins,” he promised. Nerida giggled and wrapped her arms around his middle, nuzzling her face into his chest.

“Kiwi, you aren’t allowed to die before I do,” she ordered, now looking up at him.

“Okay, I swear it,” He promised and felt a twinge of pain in his chest. That was likely to be true, while the oldest a human could be was 100; a dwarf lived for around 300 years. Nerida was going to die before him most likely. Even Thorin, who was 185 years old, would probably live longer than Nerida.

“Kiwi, how old are you?” She asked with that four year old curiosity that she seemed to gain as soon as she learned to speak.

“I’m 67, my little bear,” he answered, getting a flurry of giggles in response.

“You’re old, Kiwi! How old is Fiwi and T’orin?” She asked once more, grabbing his hands.

“Well, I may be old but Fili and Thorin are way older. Fili is 72 and Thorin is 185, bear,” at this Nerida basically flopped backwards with laughter. Kili shook his head and wrapped his arms around the girl to ensure she wouldn’t fall.

They sat there for half an hour more, just relaxing and Kili teaching her some terms in Khuzdul when a cleared throat from down below got their attention. There stood Thorin with his arms crossed and looking very amused at the sight of his nephew and his child in the tree.

“T’orin!” Nerida shouted as she jumped down into his awaiting arms. He had been gone for two days and she had missed him dearly.

“Hello, _narrvel_ , how are you?” He laughed, hugging her back while Kili slid down from his place in the tree.

“Kiwi says you’re 185 years old T’orin, you’re old!” Nerida blurted. Thorin looked mildly surprised for two seconds before he chuckled, hugging her closer.

“Yes I am old but so are you, dear one,” He joked, causing her to grin widely.

“No I’m not, I’m only four years old,” she crossed her arms and gave him a ‘your-move’ look.

Thorin laughed quietly and ruffled her hair, which fell in fluffy curls down her back. Nerida wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Now, he turned to Kili with a raised eyebrow.

“I trust she was well behaved… and you and your brother as well,” he questioned. Kili just gave a flat look in response before smiling excitedly. Nerida was currently twirling Thorin’s braids around her fingers.

“Yes, she is always well behaved,” he answered. At this Nerida gave her signature cheesy smile. Thorin and Kili continued to converse as they made their way back to the home, Nerida having taken to cling to Thorin and hum softly.

Once they got back home – which Thorin hated calling it, since he dreamed that he could reclaim Erebor and live _there_ with Nerida, who seemed to adore the stories he told of it – Thorin suggested Nerida take a bath, since she was covered in mud, dirt and _Mahal doesn’t even know_ what else.

“No! Why doesn’t Kili have to bathe?! Or you! You are thrice as dirty as I am,” she crossed her tiny arms and stamped her left foot. Thorin raised his eyebrows and gave her his best ‘get-in-there-right-now-or-so-help-me’ look.

“Because, my little gem, your health is far more important and your systems aren’t as… fortified as mine and your cousins’. In fact, you are lucky Kili took you out there,” after having Nerida for a year, they realized a very big issue – her immune systems were very, very weak. She would get sick often and when she did, it was bad. At this point, she was thin as a twig and was not as big as even the dwarfish children she was surrounded with – this was an issue.

“But I don’t wanna get in the bath, have you ever thought of that?” Thorin pinched the bridge of his nose. Every day, it seemed that Nerida got more and more sarcastic, learning it from two very specific dwarves.

“I know you don’t want to get in the bath, but you have to so you stay healthy, _narrvel,_ ” Nerida seemed to consider it before admitting defeat before quietly climbing into the bath.

Now actually washing Nerida was a whole new challenge – it always seemed that she would get soap in her eyes, she also loved to splash and not to mention, babble incoherently what sounded like a song. That in itself wasn’t annoying, but you try washing a four year old who is bopping about singing.

Finally, after that endeavor, he lifted her out of the bath and wrapped her in the fluffy towels she loved so much. He made careful with her long blonde hair and then dressed her in nightclothes. In all reality they were one of Fili’s old tunics and a pair of Kili’s loose shorts that he wore when he was around the same size then put her fur slippers that

Thorin settled himself into a chair by the fire so he could brush and braid her hair – the braid she wore having fallen out somehow while he was gone. Nerida was very good at sitting still while he did this, just contentedly playing with the stuffed rabbit she had since she was a babe – which she named Dwalin, something his friend wasn’t overly excited about until Nerida said that the rabbit Dwalin was only her second favorite Dwalin.

When he hair was nice and tame, he began the intricate braid was the one of a survivor – most dwarves shook their heads when they saw it, but this girl survived for who knows how long just laying in the forests. She definitely was a survivor. When he was finished, he secured it with a wooden bead with gems carved into it.

“Nerida, my dear, I’m… done,” he trailed off when he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Her head was slightly thrown back, mouth wide open and the stuffed rabbit clutched to her chest. Thorin sighed, cradling her in his arms before standing to bring her to her bed. He placed her on top of the fur bedding before covering her with blankets.

“Good night, _narrvel_ ,” he murmured before pressing a kiss in between her eyes. As he exited the room, he blew out the candles and left the door open a bit, so the room a bit of light in it.

 

Thorin himself only got an hour of sleep before he felt the bed dip beside him. Automatically, he lifted the top blanket so Nerida could join him. In all reality, she would have night terrors most nights and tend to crawl in next to Thorin.

“Nerida, want to talk about it?” Thorin couldn’t see much in the dim light but he could tell that Nerida was crying and shaking.

“N-no no, I don’ wan ta-talk about it,” Nerida muttered, shoving her face into his chest. Thorin sighed and started smoothing down her hair.

“Do you want chocolate and tea?” The snuffling stopped and purple eyes peeked up at him.

“With almonds? Lemon tea?” She squeaked, wiping at her eyes. Thorin chuckled before pulling himself out of the bed before picking her up. Supporting her on his hip, he picked up some chocolate and handed it to her, which she ate as he made the tea.

Thorin sat on a chair, playing the harp as Nerida ate her chocolate and drank her lemon tea. She sat in front of the fire, but had a very faraway look in her eyes. Everyone seemed to notice that she seemed older than she really was in her mind and it was evident during time like this.

After fifteen minutes, Nerida’s eyes started to droop and Thorin took that as her wanting to go back to bed again. This time, he brought her to his room because he knew that she would refuse to go to her own room.

As soon as they got situated, Nerida wrapped her tiny arms around his middle and shoved her face into his abdomen.

“Goodnight, _narrvel_ ,” he muttered, as his own eyes start to close.

“G’night, _khagam_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:  
> narrvel - little gem  
> Khagam - father


End file.
